Frank made the following historical note concerning the islands:
"They were discovered in 1595 by a Spanish navigator, Mendaña de Neyra, who named them Las Marquesas de Mendoza, in honor of the Marquis de Mendoza, Viceroy of Peru. They are sometimes known as the Mendaña Archipelago, in honor of their discoverer; and they are also called the Washington Islands, having been so named by Captain Ingraham of the American ship _Hope_, who visited them in 1791. They are generally divided into two groups, the Northern and Southern, and the Island of Nookaheeva, where we are going, is in the Northern group. Altogether there are thirteen of the islands, with an area of less than five hundred square miles and a population of about ten thousand.
"Properly the name Marquesas belongs to the Southern group only, as they alone were visited by Mendaña; the Northern group was not known until the American captain discovered it, and therefore we shall insist that they are the Washington Islands."
For the description of what they saw at Nookaheeva we will rely upon Fred's account.
"As we neared the island," said the youth in his journal, "we got up steam and went proudly into the harbor, which has a very good anchorage. The French flag was flying from a tall staff at the end of the bay, and you must know that the islands are under a French protectorate, and have been so since 1841. Hardly was our anchor down before the yacht was surrounded by a dozen boats, or canoes; one of them contained a Frenchman in a greatly faded uniform, who said he was the captain of the port. I very much doubt if he ever held the rank of captain anywhere else.
"However, he represented the authority of the French Government and treated us politely. Evidently the port was not often visited by pleasure craft like our own, as he seemed somewhat surprised when told that we had nothing to sell, and did not wish to buy anything except fresh provisions. We bought some yams, bread-fruit, bananas, and other fruits and vegetables, together with two or three pigs that the natives brought alongside in their boats. The captain of the port promised to send us a man who would supply us with fresh beef, and then went on shore, whither we followed as soon as we had lunched.